LANDOVER, Md. — Tyrod Taylor won a state championship at Hampton High and three ACC titles at Virginia Tech. He even collected a Super Bowl ring as a Baltimore Ravens backup.

Sunday, in the NFL stadium closest to his Peninsula roots, Taylor confronted a much harsher reality: his first year as a starting quarterback, at any level, that will end far shy of postseason.

Taylor and the Buffalo Bills lost to the Washington Redskins, 35-25, eliminating the Bills from playoff contention. But as with most Buffalo disappointments in 2015, Taylor was hardly the culprit.

Indeed, about the only ray of hope Bills coach Rex Ryan offered at the funeral regarded Taylor.

"I thought he played extremely well," Ryan said.

Taylor completed 16-of-27 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns, without an interception. He ran nine times for 79 yards, the latter a franchise record for a quarterback, bettering the mark of 76 he set earlier this season against Tennessee.

Taylor passed for 235 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 79 yards, in loss to Washington on Sunday.

Taylor passed for 235 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 79 yards, in loss to Washington on Sunday.

But Taylor's arm and legs weren't nearly enough to mask weak pass protection and atrocious defense. Washington (7-7) gouged Buffalo (6-8) for touchdowns on its first three possessions, and Kirk Cousins was rarely pressured in throwing for 319 yards and four scores.

"Unless we get a heck of a lot better," Ryan said, "there's going to be changes. That's what I told them. There's going to be drastic changes."

In his first season as a NFL starter after four years as a backup in Baltimore, Taylor should not be among them. And that's no matter how the Bills' final two games, at home against the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets, transpire.

See Tyrod Taylor's football career, from his time at Hampton High and Virginia Tech, to the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills.

Granted, passer rating numbers can deceive, and no one remotely lucid would suggest that Taylor is having a better season than Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger and Cam Newton, or even Drew Brees and Eli Manning. But his stats speak and bode well.

Unlike many first-time starters, Taylor has taken care of the ball. He has been intercepted only five times in 334 passes — Newton has thrown 10 picks in 439 passes. And though sacked 31 times, including five Sunday, Taylor has lost only one fumble. Finally, Taylor's 450 rushing yards are third among quarterbacks behind Newton and Wilson.

"That's the great thing about Tyrod," Bills receiver Chris Hogan said. "When things fall apart … he's a great athlete and he's able to get out in the open field and make some people miss and get some first downs and extra yardage."

In short, Buffalo missing the playoffs for the 16th consecutive year, the league's longest current drought, is not on Taylor.

Forced to run on three of Buffalo's first five called passes, Taylor's plight Sunday was evident early. He rushed for 37 yards on the Bills' final possession of the half, moving them to a second-and-goal at the 1, but after LeSean McCoy was stuffed on consecutive, unimaginative inside runs, Taylor airmailed Sammy Watkins on a fourth-down fade.

"We did have some designed runs in there for Tyrod," Ryan said. "And we did want to start escaping the pocket more. Protection obviously wasn't as good as we wanted. We got beat a few times, but he does have that escapability, and I was happy to see the way he created and made some big runs for us to keep drives going."

With Taylor connecting with Watkins on a 26-yard deep out, Buffalo showed a pulse to open the third quarter, But even that drive went sideways.

On second-and-3 from Washington's 13, Taylor saw Robert Woods open in the end zone on a comeback route, only to have Woods drop the ball. Not that it mattered. Woods stepped out of bounds earlier in the pattern, rendering him ineligible to catch the pass.

The Bills settled for a Dan Carpenter field goal, and on Washington's next play from scrimmage, safety Corey Graham misplayed Cousins' heave into coverage, allowing DeSean Jackson to turn the play into a 77-yard, drive-home-safely touchdown that put Buffalo in a 28-3 dungeon.

Oh, the Bills scored consecutive touchdowns, the second on a sweet, 48-yard deep ball from Taylor to Watkins that Watkins called "so perfect." But they felt like a tease, and sure enough, Cousins countered with his fourth scoring pass of the day, after which Taylor hit Watkins for a 20-yard touchdown and ran for a 2-point conversion.

McCoy, Watkins and Taylor give Buffalo undeniable playmakers, but as Taylor said, "It's not just all about talent. … We have to play smart ball each and every week, and that's something we haven't been able to do on a consistent basis. …

"As players, we have to go back and watch film and critique ourselves hard. I know the coaches will do the same. We have to learn. I've said that before. We have to learn from our losses, and we have to learn from our wins as well."

Taylor, who swapped jerseys postgame with Redskins defensive back and fellow Virginia Tech alum DeAngelo Hall, has never won so little or lost so much. But in 12 starts — he missed two games with a knee injury — he appears to have earned the locker room's trust.

"I just think it's his work ethic," Hogan said. "He's first guy in, last guy out. He's constantly working on his craft. … I think every single week he's getting better."

David Teel can be reached at 757-247-4636 or by email at dteel@dailypress.com. For more from Teel, read his blog at dailypress.com/teeltime and follow him at twitter.com/DavidTeelatDP.